


dog days

by icelandicc



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Humor, Sappy Ending, UA, Universe Alteration, What else is new, featuring: zaveid pushing his luck, i'm making up this lore on the spot don't think about it too hard, kemonomimi sorey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-18
Updated: 2016-10-18
Packaged: 2018-08-23 07:36:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8319358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icelandicc/pseuds/icelandicc
Summary: “Did Lailah not tell you?” Mikleo frowned sidelong at Sorey. Sorey raised an eyebrow, which told Mikleo that Lailah had not, in fact, told him. [Stupidly self-indulgent windows into the life of sheepdog Shepherd Sorey and his posse]





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NewGuy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NewGuy/gifts).



> why did i write this

I

“Nng…” Sorey sat up in bed and rubbed his head, blinking feverishly at the washcloth that fell from his forehead and into his lap. His head throbbed painfully. It began to subside as he slid to the edge of the bed, but it still lingered in the back of his mind, like a song lyric that wouldn’t leave him alone.

“Sorey!” Mikleo exclaimed, from the corner of the room where he was curled up in a chair with a thick, leather-bound tome. He set the book down on the side table next to the chair and stood with a start, hurrying over to see how Sorey was faring.

“How do you feel?”

“…kinda dizzy.” Sorey managed, yawning into his hands. He stood up shakily and stretched his arms above his head. He wobbled a bit and Mikleo moved over to support him before he fell.

“Thanks.” Sorey smiled, then frowned. Mikleo’s eyes were locked on his lower back. His gaze swung back up to Sorey’s face after a moment, a faint blush gracing his cheeks.

“What’s wrong?” Mikleo shook his head.

“I-it’s nothing. I just… I mean, Lailah told me, but since you haven’t been out of bed for a few days, I haven’t gotten to see it yet.” Sorey’s expression faltered.

“Wait, what are you talking about?” Sorey tilted his head a little bit, then turned to look back at himself, surprised to find a chestnut brown tail hanging limply behind him. Experimentally, he grabbed ahold of it and tugged lightly, then winced a little as a mild flash of pain shot up his spine.

“Huh. That’s weird.” A thought occurred to him then, and he reached up to pat down his hair, encountering two floppy ears. He pulled on them the same as the tail, and experienced a similar discomfort in the act.

“So, what happened to me exactly?” Sorey turned his gaze to Mikleo, who looked a little confused and more than a little amused at Sorey’s curious antics.

“Did Lailah not tell you?” Mikleo frowned sidelong at Sorey. Sorey raised an eyebrow, which told Mikleo that Lailah had not, in fact, told him.

“Well, Lailah says that the Shepherd, depending on the age and personality of the candidate, may or may not gain… “doggish features” after the foremost initiation pact with a Prime Lord. I hadn’t been exactly sure what that meant until I came to see you after the first day you slept and you had, well,” Mikleo made a wide hand gesture in Sorey’s direction. Sorey blinked a few times as he processed the information.

“Oh, neat! The books never talked about anything like this! I wonder how rare it is… Do the age and personality type need to correspond very specifically with each other? And how wide is the range?” Sorey trailed off into incoherent mumblings as he tapped his chin thoughtfully and stared at the floor. His signature thinking stance; except now with the added charm of a tail waving lazily behind him in concentration.

Mikleo laid a hand on his hip with a half smirk. Initially, he’d been pretty upset at the thought of Sorey taking after the animal he disliked the most, but now that he was actually here, watching Sorey’s ears twitch and perk of their own accord, he couldn’t argue that it was, in fact, quite adorable. Maybe it wouldn’t turn out to be as bad as he thought it’d be.

* * *

 

II

It was, frankly, ridiculous. And Mikleo couldn’t see how it would be a benefit. Lailah insisted that it wasn’t so bad, but also sighed that it was an unavoidable side effect; one that she as a Prime Lord had never personally encountered, but was always prepared for. As she put it, neither an asset nor a hindrance; it simply was.

Mikleo would beg to differ.

All it would take for the Lord of Calamity to fell the Shepherd was a quick scratch behind his ear. And every time Sorey got distracted by some drifting scent Mikleo just barely suppressed the urge to face palm.

Even Sorey himself whined that he kept closing his tail in doors or that it was impossible to hide his emotions when his ears and tail did such a splendid job of making him even more of an open book than he already was.

Worst of all, even the humans could see the Shepherd’s new features, which was a pain in the neck to try and explain since no similar cases had ever shown up in human legend (Lailah made sure to point out that it wasn’t the first instance, just the first one in a long _long_ time).

In short, Shepherd Sorey had become even more of an oddity than he’d been to begin with. And the extra attention wasn’t exactly what they needed. Especially not now, when trying to sneak into another country.

Sorey tried his darndest to stop from complaining about having to keep his tail down his pant leg and his ears stuffed under a very awkward looking hat whilst simultaneously having to expand on whatever mad stories Lailah and Rose came up with.

The knight on duty, stern looking and serious, but also a huge softie, as Rose speculated, was definitely going to fall for this; one hundred percent, for sure, no questions asked, definitely. And by now, Sorey knew that Rose’s gut feeling was usually trustworthy. Usually.

“-as a hollow pretense of strength!” Sorey wasn’t prideful, rather the opposite, but was nevertheless a little miffed at the way in which Lailah had no qualms with giving him such belittling things to say. Rose was having a hard time keeping the act together herself, but for entirely different reasons. Every time she spoke there was a wavery pitch to her voice, and Sorey could see the amused sparkle in her eyes with each line Lailah issued. He silently cursed himself for having such brazen friends, but bit back a smile.

* * *

 

“That was a close one.” Sorey murmured after he’d swallowed his mouthful of stew. Rose shrugged in her usual unconcerned manner and shoveled another spoonful into her mouth. Unlike Sorey, she had no problems with speaking and chewing in roughly the same interval.

“Nah, we had him, for sure. Didn’t you hear that guy at the end of our little improv session? Hopeless romantic. He wouldn’t have us pegged for malicious intent if his life depended on it, so long as we kept that up.”

“Malicious intent? But we aren’t coming here to cause any harm!” Sorey insisted. Rose rolled her eyes.

“Oh, you know what I mean. Rolance is chockfull of conspiracy theorists and paranoid idiots. No matter what you actually come into the country to do, if you seem suspicious, you’re charged for first-degree murder, no questions asked.”

“For real?” Sorey’s ears stood up straight under the hat, nearly knocking it off. He hurried to push it back over them with a sheepish half-grin. Rose snickered.

“You’re so gullible. No, not actually. It’s just an exaggeration. Man, there really isn’t a skeptic bone in your body, is there?” Sorey tilted his head in uncanny resemblance to a confused puppy. Rose waved her hand dismissively and dug back into her stew.

“Ah screw it. Trustfulness is a good trait, really! I guess it’s more out of envy that I’m nagging you about it than anything else. Keep doing what you’re doing.” Rose trailed off into a soft smile and Sorey felt like there was more to it then he could see.

* * *

 

III

Dezel couldn’t help himself; he really couldn’t. And no one blamed him, not entirely, anyways. It was Dezel. Dezel had a notorious, if low-key, love for dogs. And with Sorey’s ears and tail making nothing if not a good impression on the wind seraph, they were bound to end up in a situation like this sooner or later.

Dezel was currently positioned with his hand behind one of Sorey’s dog ears, scratching curiously at a specific spot. Sorey had tensed up, biting his lip in frustrated concentration and staring at a nearby wall as he not-so-subtly tried to keep his leg from twitching. There was a faint but not unnoticeable blush on his face.

The quiet struggle continued for almost an entire minute as Edna watched in amusement and laughed from behind her umbrella.

Eventually both parties gave in and Sorey sunk down to a crouching position and thumped his foot on the floor unabashedly, eyes closed and face flushed with contentment. Dezel held back a grin and continued scratching.

Mikleo shot Lailah a look that said ‘I told you so’.

* * *

 

IV

“Gotcha something, Mikboy.” Zaveid’s tone of voice made Mikleo sure that whatever it was he’d gotten him was more trouble than it was worth.

“It-it’s the thought that counts, Zaveid. You can keep-“

“Aw, come’on! You’ll like it I promise! I’m sure you’ll find it very… useful.” He wiggled his eyebrows in a, frankly, very disturbing way. Mikleo narrowed his eyes, but took the box Zaveid held out to him. He opened it a safe distance from his face, just in case it was some sort of explosive. Sitting inside was a shiny collar with a little leash attached in a very obnoxious shade of gold.

Mikleo stared at it blankly for a few seconds, before turning his questioning gaze up to Zaveid. Zaveid winked with a click of his tongue and made finger guns towards Mikleo.

“Your pooch is untrained, am I right? Well say hello to the remedy!”

Mikleo continued to stare, obviously unimpressed and also very confused.

“My… pooch?” It took Mikleo a second before the realization set it. His stare suddenly turned from annoyed to downright murderous.

Silently, he replaced the lid on the box, and shoved it into Zaveid’s chest before walking out of the room in an unnerving calm.

Zaveid, although slightly disappointed in the lackluster rise he’d gotten out of Mikleo, was nevertheless quite pleased with himself. Not, of course that he planned to just give up. Quitters never win, after all.

* * *

 

V

Sorey had encountered this problem numerous times, but still saw no clear solution to the problem. The problem, being, that Sorey didn’t know how to say no. Refusing people just wasn’t in his nature. Why say no when he had the means to accomplish what they asked of him? He didn’t see a reason to.

And people as foolheartedly sweet and credulous as Sorey just so happened to be, tended to be taken advantage of. Lailah knew this to be true, and vowed to protect Sorey’s precious innocence from those who sought to stain it.

So each time a passerby asked to pet Sorey’s ears, or Sorey had his tail yanked by an unruly child left unattended, Lailah asserted her dominance with a quick snap of her wrist that blew an uncomfortably hot wind across the skin of the offender. Sorey reprimanded her about it on several occasions, but there was no way in hell she was letting anyone get away with exploiting and violating her Shepherd after she’d been for so long without one.

“I don’t see how any of that could be categorized as “exploitation” or “violation”, Lailah.” Sorey argued with a little frown.

“Sorey, you don’t understand. Didn’t you ever feel strange when they touched you there? Or how about when Dezel pets you?” Sorey tilted his head.

“I-I guess so. But it’s a nice feeling, so I didn’t think about it much.” Lailah bemoaned Sorey’s naïveté for a short moment, before returning to the matter at hand.

“Of course you didn’t. I shouldn’t have expected you to understand what that feeling was.” Sometimes she forgot that he was only seventeen, far too young to be trying to save the world, and on top of everything, having to deal with these sorts of things. Sorey offered her a concerned look.

“It’s my fault for not explaining it sooner. I suppose I was a little nervous, having never actually dealt with a case like this before. I’d doubted the facts myself, but since you’ve pretty much confirmed my fears, it wouldn’t be right of me to keep it from you any longer.” Sorey looked mildly afraid at this point, worried about whatever it might be that Lailah was going to tell him. She averted her eyes from Sorey with a small blush.

“Well, according to seraphic records kept of the rare cases like yours, often the effected Shepherds experienced… heightened sensitivity, in and around the areas of their doglike features.”

Lailah’s efforts were met with an impassive stare. She drew in a frustrated breath.

“For crying out loud, they’re erogenous zones!” Sorey’s face went a little red as he looked anywhere but Lailah, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

“…I-I kind of figured that.” Lailah choked. Sorey’s blush worsened with Lailah’s reaction. He coughed into the back of his hand.

“Well, it always felt too good to be just an uncomplicated pleasure.” He remarked with an embarrassed smile. Lailah shook her head in wonder.

“Sorey, you simply amaze me.”

* * *

 

VI

Mikleo wasn’t sure which was worse, the idea that Zaveid had even had the nerve to graciously allow Sorey the gift Mikleo had denied, or the enthusiasm in which Sorey had accepted it. Sorey, ingenuous and chaste as he was, still wasn’t entirely sure why or with what intent Zaveid had given it to him, but was wearing it openly nonetheless. Mikleo contemplated impaling himself on his own staff; and also impaling Zaveid. Yes, that was definitely a part of the plan.

And so it was in that way that Rose had spent the rest of the evening snickering awfully, stealing glances at Sorey every now and then and refusing to provide him with any inkling of what she found so strange. Lailah busied herself with any task she could find, unable to keep a light, shameful blush off her cheeks. Edna just grinned like she knew some sort of amazing secret that would change the life of any who heard it, but wasn’t planning to ever actually tell anyone. Zaveid overtly gave Mikleo a multitude of different looks, his favorite being the one that plainly said “you’re welcome”. Mikleo himself tried his very best to treat Sorey as normally as possible, whilst definitely not sneaking looks at the leash that hung from the collar as naturally as if he’d worn it since the day he was born.

It was, however, the innkeeper who Mikleo pitied the most. Along with the strange looks they were used to getting when asking for a meal for six, she was also eying the collar with a face dusted pink. She kept glancing back and forth between it and Rose, and Mikleo wasn’t honestly sure if Rose was secretly enjoying the attention, or if she simply didn’t care enough to correct or disprove the woman’s assumption. Sorey, of course, was completely and totally oblivious to all of this and went on to happily seat himself at the nearest table, the only trouble gracing his mind being the idea that the type of cream he liked with his potatoes might not be available.

Three suffocating days later, Sorey took the collar off. The rest of the day he wore a profound blush in its stead. Lailah had assumedly informed him of Zaveid’s sleazy intentions, and Sorey had, thank Maotelus, taken Lailah’s advice in removing his “gift”. The devil in question, throughout the day, continued to send Mikleo disappointed looks, as though he had let some grand opportunity pass him by. Mikleo made a point to significantly water down his stew that evening.

* * *

 

VII

“I thought I would hate it at first, you know?” Mikleo admitted quietly, admiring the view of the sunset from Elysia. He’d seen it so many times before he could’ve closed his eyes and remembered it in perfect detail, but this time it seemed somehow different from all those times before. Mikleo turned to Sorey. The light shone down on him, highlighting his face and the ends of his hair and those ridiculously adorable ears. The light wind jostled them and they twitched. Mikleo laughed a little.

Sorey moved to look at Mikleo and raised an eyebrow, ear perking up along with it.

“Hate what? These?” Sorey pointed to his ears. Mikleo stifled another giggle and nodded.

“Because you’re scared of dogs, right?” Mikleo’s smile vanished.

“I’m not _scared_ of them. They just make me… nervous.” Sorey shook his head.

“Same difference.”

“But you’re not the same.” Mikleo insisted, not liking the tone of Sorey’s voice. “You’re Sorey! And Sorey is Sorey even if he has dumb dog ears and a tail.” Sorey sighed at Mikleo’s indignant look.

“You’re being silly. I didn’t mean _that_ ,” Sorey scooted closer to the water seraph and threw his arm around his shoulders, pulling Mikleo to cradle his head against the crock of Sorey’s neck. He sighed contently.

“It’ll always be like this, you know. Me and you and the world.” Sorey whispered.

“I know.” Mikleo closed his eyes and relaxed into Sorey’s familiar warmth.

“You’re cute.” Sorey pushed Mikleo’s bangs out of his eyes and kissed the circlet that rested gently against his forehead. Mikleo made a small noise of disapproval, but let him.

“You’re stupid.” Mikleo murmured against Sorey’s shoulder. Sorey laughed in that way that he had that made Mikleo shiver against him and bury his face further into his neck.

“I love you too.”

The setting sun continued to shine.


End file.
